Happy Birthday

Reynald turned 60 years old on the 18th of November.  He has 20 grey hairs on his head, the rest are still very dark brown, lots of ideas in his brain that he still wants to explore, plenty of energy and I believe lots of years of happy living ahead of him!

Happy Birthday Reynald!!!

We had a small party to celebrate.  Alicia made this White Chocolate Cheesecake at Reynald's request.  It was a good choice!

Small Business Saturday

The Funks had to leave Saturday but before they did we all piled in to cars and headed in to Harrington to have a cup of coffee and a muffin at the Post and Office.  My parents joined us, and for about an hour, we completely took over this delightful coffee shop!  We even added a few things to the tab that didn't include coffee!!!

The Mielke/Funk crowd enjoying coffee and conversation at the Post and Office.

My dad and Justin Slack, who owns and operates the Post and Office with his wife Heather.

David and Roni with coffee and a breakfast biscuit!

Heather and Justin had the Post and Office decorated for Christmas and it is so darling.  There are several items for sale, made by local craftsfolk.  

Justin and Heather behind the counter as Paul and John place their order.

If you haven't had a chance, or taken the time to stop in at the Post and Office, do so!  The atmosphere is cozy and warm and the decor is constantly changing to stimulate mind and spirit.

The day after.....

Friday after Thanksgiving we had a relaxing day.  Thanos, Katerina and little Kirki left for Seattle mid-morning but before we could say good bye, we had to take a few photos of our group.

Here's our happy group!

John was reluctant to be in the group photo so Katerina snapped a photo of him individually.

Early afternoon we decided to take a walk down Rolinco road.  The dogs were happy to join us.

Mielkes and Funks by the Mielke Funk sign!

Walking on Rolinco road.  Here comes Charlie!!!

After our walk we had lunch then set up the old cider press and made a batch of apple cider for our evening bonfire.  It's been years since we set up the press and ground and pressed apples.  The resulting juice is amazing!

A wheel barrow full of apples.

Roni Jo ready to conquer the cider press!

Tamping the apples in the grinding hopper.

Ground apples in the squeezing bucket.

Pressing lid...

Juice beginning to flow.

More juice!  This needs to be strained before drinking as some peels and seeds etc. get through.

Grandma and Grandpa and Charlie, patiently waiting for a cup of apple juice.

Baxter couldn't wait.  He wanted an apple right now!!

After our cider press, we witnessed another amazing sunset from the west porch..  Honestly, the sky the last month has been so spectacular, from sunrise to sunset.

After dark, we had a small bonfire.  We roasted wieners, had Boston baked beans and s'mores for dessert.  It was a perfect winter evening to be sitting around the fire.  Chilly enough to want to be close, but not so cold that the side opposite the fire didn't freeze.

Rolinco Road bonfire on Friday night.

Gathered around the fire.  

Paul Funk with a four pronged marshmallow roaster!!

The moon was so pretty.

Mielke/Funk Thanksgiving

We have had the most wonderful Thanksgiving week.  A Mielke/Funk event that we hope to re-create time and time again.

David's parents, Paul and Jean flew from New Jersey to Portland Oregon to spend a few days with their older son John, who lives and works there.  Younger son Mark, who lives and works in Los Angeles, also flew in to Portland to catch a ride with parents and sibling, to Rolinco Road on Wednesday!

David and Roni arrived late Wednesday night from Boston.  A few extended Mielke family relatives joined us on Thanksgiving day for food and fellowship, as did my parents.  New to our group are co-workers of David's that now live in Spokane.  Their journey to Rolinco road is a little longer than most, starting in Greece, then moving to Rome Italy, and now Spokane!  A delightful young couple, they add so much to our family unit!

  I love Thanksgiving.  It is such a warm and comforting time for both me and Reynald.  Our girls love it as well, and what a treat is was to have them both in the kitchen, helping prepare our meal.

A few, but far complete photo image representation of our day....

David and his dad Paul visiting in the kitchen before dinner.

The Funk brothers, plus Roni Jo on Thanksgiving morning, eating breakfast.

Brothers, David, Mark and John.

The garage set up for dinner.

Reynald carving the turkey.

Reynald supervising the buffet line with Uncle Doug and Alicia dishing up.

The dining room crowd.

Nephews Nathan and Jeff and brother John Funk.

Our youngest Thanksgiving guest, one year old Kirki who just celebrated her first birthday.

Thanksgiving day sunset.

The southern sky on Thanksgiving day.

And the eastern sky at sunset on Thanksgiving day.  It was a 360 degree beautiful sky.  

Pretty photos

Still more pretty sky photos and a few other miscellaneous thrown in for good measure!

As I've been saying, I'm obsessed with the sky these days!

I'm also obsessed with my little dog!  

This is the little oak tree that I started from an acorn from the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.  I planted to honor Roni Jo and David's marriage.  It's grown a lot this summer and the foliage this fall is stunning.  Almost the same color as the barn in the background.  

Downy Brome

We have a problem in several fields.  It's called Downy Brome, more commonly known as Cheat Grass.  It's a fall germinated annual, just like wheat.  It's in the grass family, just like wheat, and it loves the same growing conditions as wheat does.

There are a few chemical options, but they have proven to be marginally effective at best.  A person can plant spring crops for two or three years and "clean up the ground" as we say, but that has economic impacts, mostly negative.

This is not a new issue for us and for many in our area.  I grew up listening to my grandpa and then my dad, worrying about "cheat" and how to control it.  Some years, the conditions are particularly good for cheat grass germination and this fall is one of those years.  Take a look.

This is the hill that parallels our house lane.

This is a close up look of that hill.  The darker green plants are wheat plants.  The light green between the wheat plants is solid cheat grass.

Another close look at the cheat grass between the rows.  UGH!!!!

This is what it's supposed to look like.  Nothing but soil and straw residue between the rows of wheat.  

Another pretty sky day.

Several days last week the sky was so incredibly beautiful and dynamic.  I could not keep from stopping to look.  One of those days, Charlie and Baxter and I went for a walk on Rolinco Road.  Please indulge me as I share a few more sky photos.

Walking down Rolinco Road

Baxter and Charlie love to go on walks.

Of course there are distractions along the way!

Charlie is such a terrier!

Not sure Reynald is going to like Charlie digging up the wheat.  But, he was in pursuit of a rodent of some sort.

Look at this sky!

Stormy looking clouds over the house.

By the time we returned there were just pretty clouds over the house!